We had a potluck at work today. My usual reaction to a potluck is this will be interesting and wonder if there will be anything I am willing to eat. The people on the floor I work on can cook! This questions are no longer a concern other then what will we have the pleasure of eating this time!

I actually had a request to bring my black bean soup. It is scrumptious. Here is the recipe.

Black Bean Soup

1 pound dry black beans

water

5 cloves garlic or to your taste, minced

1 fist size onion or to your taste, chopped fine

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ancho chili pepper ground

1/4 teaspoon chipolte chili pepper ground

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

In a large bowl or your crockpot insert, place the beans. Wash them and pick them for stones. Cover with water and let soak about eight hours.

Once the beans are soaked, rinse and place in a pot or crockpot. My preference is a crockpot. Cover them with water and about an inch higher. Cook them until they are soft. There are two choices here: 1) throw the onion and garlic in with them while they are cooking or 2) place onions and garlic in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil and caramelize, then add them to the cooked beans. Each tastes a bit different both are good.

I sometimes add a whole head of garlic or a whole onion caramelized.

Add the spices. Then blend with an immersion blender, regular blender, or smashing against the side of the pan/insert. All work and give different textures. This batch I blended until smooth because I just threw the onion and garlic in without chopping.

Make sure it is the thickness you want. I usually have to add some water or broth. EAT!

This is lovely in my tummy, both at the potluck (yes, I ate my own dish) and for dinner tonight. Yes, I eat black bean soup in summer. There is NOT a bad time of year for black bean soup!